


winter's breath

by nebuleia



Series: TWDG Rare Pair Week 2019 [1]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, Canon-Typical Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mild Mention Of Gore, Minerva Needs A Therapist And A Hug, On Part Of The Delta @ Minerva: Implied Torture and Emotional Manipulation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, TWDG Rarepair Week 2019, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 02:37:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18682429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nebuleia/pseuds/nebuleia
Summary: In that moment the past eclipses the present like two pieces of overlaid film - The feel of Sophie's chest fluttering like a bird beneath the hilt of her blade, Clementine: bruised, battered and still so beautiful, snarling like a lion in front of her boy. Two pairs of hands tangling a crown of flowers in Minerva's hair, Then and Now - before it passes like a shadow."Fucking go then. And don't let me catch you," Minerva chokes through gritted teeth as she staggers to a shaky stand. The blood flows faster, stains the snow dusted dandelions beneath them as Clementine turns and runs. She doesn't look back.---TWDG Rarepair Week Day 1: Flower Crowns





	winter's breath

**Author's Note:**

> This is very much AU where Clementine is captured by the Delta before finding TFS Gang and encounters Minerva there. I hope you enjoy and if there are any additional tags you think this piece needs please tell me!
> 
> I'm assuming Violet and Minerva are the same age as well since the game doesn't give us additional canon info. 
> 
> The intervals mark the passage of time btw!

Evans shivers besides her in the mild spring night air, fiddling with his firearm absently. It's getting irritating, the constant click of him flicking the safety on and off, but Minerva isn't about to pick a fight with a higher ranking member when she herself only barely secured guard duty. Sophie was still stuck tilling potatos after all according to what she heard from other members assigned to plantation maintenance. That is, when her sister wasn't trying to actively sabotage her chances of not receiving punishment.

Evans huffs a breath, startling Minerva from her thoughts. She glances at him from the corner of her eye, shoulders tense and ready to respond to orders if need be. The last thing she needs is a rumour up the chain of command that she's not an attentive guard. Hell, even so much as backtalk garners more than a stern look. 

For all it's...heavy handed measures, the Delta  _works_  and that fact doesn't seem to be something Sophie understands.It's ironclad walls and secure rations say that far more than anything else. It's safe, even if it's their prison yard. Sure, it’s hard to see from the bottom rung, dirt under your nails and sweat on your brow like where Sophie is. But the fact of the matter is that things are better further up, better than - well, anything they ever had at Ericson's even before the world went to shit. 

That cold hard fact alone is worth the punishment that comes from foolish mistakes that could cost the community if ignored. 

The scars lashed across her back ache suddenly and Minerva grits her teeth. It's phantom pain, nothing she shouldn't be able to handle. Nothing that she wouldn't be expected to handle. 

"You know, we've had some weird ones," Evans mutters, tilting his head to stare at the stars scattered across the night sky. "But Nine And A Half Fingers-McGee back there is fucking crazy. Gamma squad caught her trying to steal from one of the shipments in broad daylight," 

Minerva tries not to let her surprise show and if Evans's lack of suspicion is any indication, she succeeds.

The Delta is big enough now that they're attracting lone survivors, desperate enough to enlist in the service of the compound's army for the rations alone. The place is feared for its strength after all. There's a reason why any other sizeable communities in the area with little usable manpower but greater resources have allied with the Delta.

"Seriously?" As soon as the word escapes her mouth, an icy chill runs down Minerva's spine. She glances at Evans, clenching her trembling fingers into stillness around her own firearm.

He doesn't seem to notice she questioned the story, the man fiddling around in his pockets, presumably for something to smoke. More times than she can remember, Minerva has seen Evans trade in his rations for access to the limited supply the Delta possesses after all. 

Sure enough, he withdraws a hand rolled cigar from within the depths of his jacket and lights it with a flick. 

"Had a tot with her too.  _He's_  been relocated, of course," Evans exhales a curl of smoke into the night, grimacing. "I heard it sure was a pain in the ass to separate them, though. She slit some poor bastard's throat and fractured someone else's leg before they got a decent hold on her," 

Minerva glances at the makeshift barbwire cell behind them. The girl slumped across the grass in the far corner would be the culprit if she had to guess. It's difficult to see in the moonless night (and she doesn't want to risk starting a shitfight by shining her issued torch in there), but the figure is all skin and bones. They haven't had any new recruits lately as most of the squadrons which handle such haven't returned. 

"Rehabilitation, sir?" She ventures carefully, unspeakably glad that her voice doesn't waver. 

Evans nods, tapping his cigar lightly with a finger to dislodge the lingering ash. 

"That's the idea, I imagine," He grunts, eyeing Minerva stonily. "Since you'll be her handler for the foreseeable future."

"Sir?" 

"Orders from from the top, Minerva. Caul will be taking intermission sessions since it's apparently something of a personal case to her but don't screw it up on your end." 

"I, um...yes, sir,"

* * *

"Fuck you! Hear me? Fuck! You! " Clementine howls, still struggling as they drag her back into the pen. She tries to bite one of the guards and gets a knee the gut, sending plummeting her to the ground, gasping as though being drowned. 

Minerva wipes away the blood trickling out of her nose, feels it smear hot and sticky against her upper lip. She prods gingerly at the bridge of her nose but the pain is already fading to a dull ache. It'd been a shitty headbutt; the blotchy redness on Clementine's forehead proof enough of that.

Minerva shifts uneasily. She can feel the uneasy eyes of her comrades burning holes into her back. The proper regulation demanded she punish the girl for the  _first_  infringement, let alone letting it escalate into a whole fucking failure of a session which ended in getting tackled into the muck. She'd seen the gentler guards get away with just backhanding. That kind of response would've been the bare minimum expected of her as a handler. 

Minerva grinds the heel of her palms against her eyes until little splotches of light appear, hissing a curse as the pain throbbing in the bridge of her nose intensifies. 

She...she didn't  _want_  to. She'd never raised a hand to Clementine and doing so even for breaking the rules? 

It just...She could find another way to manage the girl's rehabilitation. 

* * *

The summer winds blow warm across the Delta, whipping up what looked to be a fierce storm upon the horizon, it's clouds so dark they could almost be mistaken for a weightless tide of ash.

Minerva chances a glance at Clementine. She's gained some weight, thank goodness, but she still looks pretty haggard. There's a sickly quality to her skin and the bruise like colour beneath her bright eyes has only darkened with time. Minerva had been warned of course: the first few months of a rehabilitation were exceedingly fragile and if managed poorly, could offer less than optimal results. Why they thought she of all people wouldn't know that is beyond Minerva. A lump rises in her throat at the thought and Minerva quickly tries to swallow it down. 

Her back aches sharply, though nothing touches her save phantom fingers. 

She hasn't seen Sophie in months. Or at least, it feels that long, days stretching on into a seemingly endless cycle of chasing survival.

* * *

 She nudges the loaf of bread closer to Clementine, wary of any sudden movements. The girl is curled in on herself within the shabby medical bay cot, cheeks flushed with fever.

"Where? Where did you take him, you -" A cough splinters her disgusted hiss, convulsing as tremors wrack her body. Minerva can't tear her gaze away from the hatred in those eyes, feels pinned to the floor at the mercy of a lion.

"I'll save him. And even when he's safe, you'll never have me," Despite the scarlet tinge to her face, Clementine's eyes are clear and sharp. Beautiful. Minerva swallows back a trickle of fear. They always say the same thing (She did too, a lifetime ago). "I'd rather die than fight for you fucking monsters," 

* * *

 "I had a brother: Tenn," She confesses into a half empty flask of gin, the bottle glinting in the warm hue of firelight. She sees Clementine's expression ripple, something like surprise shatter across her face. Heat burns at her ears as Minerva takes another sip, coughing as it burns a fiery trail down her throat. She can't shake the feeling she offered her throat to a predator.

Those eyes, so beautiful and proud, don't leave her face. 

"So for what it's worth," Minerva whispers and guilt prickles hot and wet behind her eyes. "I'm sorry,"

* * *

"Minerva!" 

Minerva startles at the sheer venom in Clementine's voice, rubbing her stinging hand. The girl bristles at the offending guard who glances at her rather disdainfully before raising an eyebrow to Minerva. Fear floods her body in an icy wave. They're expecting her to punish Clementine for the disrespect. 

"Come on," She mutters, nudging Clementine away from the guard and doing her best to avoid eye contact. 

Best to let them think she was being punished elsewhere. Hopefully.

Deep down though? It warms her heart that Clem tried to protect her, even if it wasn’t needed. 

* * *

"AJ is my family, Minerva. You of all people  _have_  to understand that!"

There's dirt under her nails the dark sickly colour of walker blood before it crusts. Like the bruises painting Sophie's face, the bitter tang of dried blood drifting in the air when they passed close enough to touch. If only her sister hadn't opened her fucking mouth.... 

"I...yeah, Clem. I do,"

Minerva flinches, feels the lash of the whip upon her skin but when she reaches back to touch, there is only the same familiar scars, flesh knotted tight and ugly across her lower back.

* * *

"I'm here now. I won't ever leave you," Clementine croaks into her boy's neck, cradling the kid's head as she kisses his brow again and again. AJ clings to her then, crying out Clem's name out into her jacket as he burrows his face into her throat. 

Minerva watches her rock slightly on the balls of her feet, soothing her brother as best she can, shoulders trembling. 

It feels too private, like Minerva has stepped into a space she doesn't - _couldn't_ \- belong. A sting of guilt aches in her heart. _Sophie, AJ, Clemen-_

Clementine turns to face her, eyes shining and cheeks streaked with tears before she throws her arms around Minerva.

She stiffens instinctively but Clementine doesn't fade, doesn't let go. How long? How long has it been since someone touched her like this? The warmth sinks deep and comforting into Minerva's very bones as she stifles a sob. Clementine wipes a hand over her face, smearing dirt over her cheeks, so very small next to her own intimidating height. Minerva has never seen anything so beautiful. 

(She feels a pang of guilt for Violet, fierce and quiet and only able to awkwardly fumble a such a soft,  _genuine_  confession of love that Minerva wishes violently that she wasn't such a fucking coward. That she untangled Violet's heart from her own the moment she laced their fingers and felt nothing more than gentle affection. It was cowardly. She'd _wanted_ to love Violet, hoped that with enough time she just simply  _would_ but - )

"Thank you," Clementine whispers and suddenly there's a hand cradling Minerva's scarlet cheek, warm and calloused. " _Thank you_ , Minnie,"

(The truth was, she'd always been selfish like that)

* * *

"I'd like to petition allowing AJ to stay with her in the encampment. It'd...It'd ease her transition into the community, ma'am. She's suffering without him."

"Granted, but interval sessions with Caul will be increased to monitor any drastic changes in temperament,"

* * *

Autumn hovers at their doorstep. Minerva curls closer against Clementine's back and ignores the leers of her comrades as best she can. This life isn't easy, but it's the only choice left of they want to live. 

* * *

Blood bubbles on Sophie lips, her eyes bulging wide and glassy. 

"I'm sorry, Soph I'm _so_ sorry," 

Hands claw weakly at Minerva's wrists, gouging bloody wounds into her skin. 

There's no air. She's gasping, drowning on the river's bank. 

Sophie gurgles at her, blood trickling down her chin. Minerva grips the knife tighter, if she lets go she's certain she fall and shatter into a thousand pieces.

Her sister's heart flutters beneath her palm, chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. It slows, fingers going limp and Minerva's hands must be stained so deeply they'll never be clea -

Blood splatters violently across Minerva's face and she gasps at the heat. A fraction of Sophie sunken skull is flung outward only to be swallowed up beneath the river's tide, brain matter scattered onto the grass like a misshapen halo around what remains of her head.

Lily cleans her pistol with a grimace. 

"Don't let them turn next time, soldier,"

The roar of the river fills her ears, drowns out the scream of static. 

* * *

"Minnie? Are you okay?"

Clementine's fingers are gentle and cold in the autumn wind, brushing away a couple strands of hair out of Minerva's face. She smiles before refocusing on threading daisies together in a crown, knots inelegant and clumsy. 

Minerva licks her parched lips. 

"I'm fine," She whispers, burrowing her face against Clementine's neck. "Just tired," 

She tries to ignore the roiling nausea and grins. It feels brittle and Clementine deserves more, she knows that, but there is so little left in here. Nothing but a hollow grief and the desperate ache to see the one person she has left smile. 

"You're so weird. I can't believe you even remember how to do this. They taught us to do this in like, what? Grade one?," 

Her girlfriend gives her a funny look, wrinkling her nose. 

"It's not that hard to figure out...again," Clementine snorts, knotting two stems together with a gentle smile. She looks peaceful now, finally. Warm and bright as the sunshine. They have a home now together. Just a little longer, and Minerva is certain Lilly will approve of Clementine's full initiation into the Delta

"There!" Clementine brandishes the ring of daisies proudly before placing it gently in Minerva's hair. "Now you're officially a fairy queen," 

"A fairy queen?" 

"Yeah," A gentle heat brushes Minerva's mouth, leaves her fingers tingling. Clementine grins teasingly. "And I'll be your _other_ fairy queen,"

 Minerva edges closer to Clementine, to the simple content joy she emits with every fragile smile. 

"You know, we should invite Sophie next time. You said you used to do this kind of thing with her as a kid and I haven't seen her in weeks," 

Panic tingles in Minerva's veins and she winces as her fingers begin to tremble. 

"Yeah, sounds great, Clem," 

Thankfully, her voice doesn't shake, her smile doesn't fracture.

* * *

"I could never stay in this fucking place. It stole AJ and even if I could!" Clementine's face is pinched with horror, blade drawn," I... I _know_ what you did. I can't _trust_ you!,"

She nearly gasps with the pain, like Clementine had shoved the knife deep into her heart and _twisted_. 

"You don't know a  -! Please, _please_ just come with me, Clem. I'll vouch for you, everything will be forgiven. You and AJ have a home here. You're safe, you don't need to be scared, I won't let anything happen to you," Minerva offers Clementine a hand, heart in her throat. It's only one little mistake, one minuscule error because Clementine is as wild and free as the summer winds and twice as fierce and while Minerva loves that about her with a soul deep ache, it needs to be tamed. Clem _will_  understand, her hands had said as much tangling flowers in Minerva's hair. She'd sworn that love with a fumbling, sweet kiss again and again. 

Her eyes glisten in the moonlight and for an instant Minerva imagines she will reach out and lace their fingers, kiss her with warm, chapped lips and come _home_. 

But in that moment the past eclipses the present like two pieces of overlaid film - The feel of Sophie's chest fluttering like a bird beneath the hilt of her blade, Clementine: bruised, battered and still so beautiful, snarling like a lion in front of her boy. Two pairs of hands tangling a crown of flowers in Minerva's hair, Then and Now - before it passes like a shadow.

"Fucking go then. And don't let me catch you," Minerva chokes through gritted teeth as she staggers to a shaky stand. The blood flows faster, stains the snow dusted dandelions beneath them as Clementine turns and runs.

She doesn't look back.

* * *

"You understand why this punishment is necessary, soldier?" 

The room blurs, darkness licking at its edges. Minerva opens her mouth but no sound sound emerges. The nausea roiling in her gut deepens the longer as she tries to force out an answer. The boot at her back offers a gentle warning, grinding against the reopened lashes carved deep into her back. Minerva's licks her lips, throat aching as she tastes the iron tang of blood. It's easier to fixate on the flex of her hand in the near darkness, the scrape of her nails against the unforgiving stone. Anything to ground herself against the pain scorching every inch of her like wildfire. 

"Yes," 

The boot presses sharply down and a cry escapes Minerva's lips. 

"Yes, what?" 

Her vision swims hazily.

"Yes, ma'am," 

 Clementine's daisies are crushed tighter within her palm at the words. 

"Gratitude is one of the most integral values of the Delta. Without it, do you know what erodes? Respect. And with the erosion of respect would come the destabilisation of the very structure of government, of  _care_ , that will keep the Delta standing even should the rest of humanity fall," The voice sounds sinks into her head, ever penetrating even through the blinding pain. 

The boot is merciful then, lifting slightly and Minerva sags into the hard stone beneath her. Relief floods her veins like morphine. 

"You neglected your duty to teach that prisoner respect, soldier. No, worse than that, you failed. She was able to take advantage of you," 

At this, Minerva sees the hazy figure crouch down as she blinks the blood out of her eyes. The boots are dangerously close to her face. Minerva gasps, flinching without thought as the figure shifts. She tries her best to remain still, to listen attentively. She doesn't want to lose any teeth.

"Kindness is all well and good. It is a quality to be commended! But, more importantly,  _earned_ ," 

A gentle hand strokes at Minerva's head. Distantly, she leans into the touch. 

"We don't  _wish_  to hurt you, Minerva. You simply gave us no choice." The voice assures her, deep and calm. Like this, Minerva can almost imagine those hands belong to her mother, gently combing fingers through her hair. "However, broken rules require punishment. Otherwise, order cannot be upheld," 

 The fingers tighten suddenly, jerking her head aloft by a matted clump.

"Do you understand?"

"...Yes, ma'am," Minerva croaks, squeezing her eyes shut. 

The hand releases its grip and her head slams into the concrete below. Minerva whimpers, tasting a fresh wash of blood and blinking stars back behind her eyes.

"Good. You've mad a wise decision, soldier. However, be warned: as of tomorrow you've been relocated to plantation maintenance. Evidently you need a firm reminder of what exactly you chose by abandoning the duties that came with privilege. Access to showers will be denied, bedding demoted to the concrete pens and rations halved. Work diligently and we shall see whether you have once more earned the right to claim a place within this community,"

"Yes, ma'am," 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this :D I'd love to hear from you, if you did! Kudos also make my heart explode as well <3  
> honestly this couldve (and shouldve fhdshfkj) been 6000 words to get the full emotional scope and stuff but im already running late for this rare pair week im so SORRY FDKFJKD


End file.
